'Confusing' tickets blamed for high fares

Millions of train passengers are missing out on cheaper fares because rail tickets are 'complex and confusing' , Passenger Focus, the national rail traveller watchdog, will warn this week.

The group will say the fare structure is particularly confusing for long-distance passengers. Many travellers are unaware of cheaper ticket options, and others cannot afford to pay up-front for rail cards or season tickets which allow them to get discount fares, it claims.

The watchdog will use the publication on Thursday of this research to claim that train operators are pushing for cheaper regulated 'saver' tickets, which can be bought on the day of travel, to be phased out. 'It's increasingly likely regulation of the saver ticket is going to go,' said Caroline Jones, director of communications. 'It might get to the point where a turn-up-and-go railway, certainly on longer routes, doesn't exist.'

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